Anonymous donor sets up two $10,000 scholarships for Rotary

The Riverhead Rotary handed two new $10,000 scholarships this year, both made possible thanks to an anonymous donor who wants to get students “excited about math.”

Called the “Rotary Math SAT Challenge Scholarship,” the award went to the two local high-school seniors who scored highest on the SAT’s math portion.

Pamela Karwowski of Riverhead High School and Ian Nish of Mattituck High School won with a score of 770 each.

“It was the donor’s intent to get kids excited about math,” said Annmarie Zilnicki, chairperson of the Rotary’s scholarship program. “He felt that math is very important in any future career choice. The guidance counselors at both schools were informed about the challenge and promoted it to their students.”

The new scholarship is the second highest awarded by the Rotary, behind only the Bruce Stark Memorial Scholarship, which is given to “two students who excel in sports and academics,” Ms. Zilnicki said.

Brianne Corwin and Jeremy Bornstein received those $15,000 awards, which were created by the Stark family.